Method of and apparatus for heating water



Aug. 11, 1925. 1,549,483

A. J. GALLAHER METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER Filed June 28, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. J. GALLAHER METHGD 0F AND AFPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER Aug. 11, 1925.

'Fued June 2a, 1919 2 sheets-sheet 2 le. lf/I//l/ 4 Patented Aug. ll, l925.

I 154954@ l? Afl.' l: FIC El.

ANDREW J.. GALLAHER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

METHOD OF AND,iPliIRJJU'Sr FOR HEATING WATER.

Application filed June 28, 12H9:

To all' afi/tomv it 'may conce/in.:

Beit known that I, A iuaiznw J. G'aiiniriiin, a citifzen= of the United States, residing in;`

the city ofv St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have. invented a certain new and usefulMethod` of and Apparatus for Heating' lil-later, of which the. following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will.

enable. others, skilled in thefart to make. and use tliei saine.

My' invention consists in thel method and in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter'described and particularly pointed out in the claims. the various:` arrangements employed and shiown inithev drawings hereto attached and described in the specification I donot limit my invention toy thel precise form or constiruction of apparatus shown or the. several. parts thereto inasmuch as various altera,- tions may be made without changing the scope of my invention. My object is to heat waterquickly and: economically.. My invention lmay be used in heating waterto supply the heating systems. in residences and otherl buildings and? likewise ini quickly providing hot water for washing and other purposes.v

In the drawings, Figu-re l is a side view of mywater heater. Figure 2 is a transverse sectional. view of the heaterV taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l. Figure 3 is a fragmental, longitudinal sectional showing the lower end of the heater. Figf ure 4. is a--sectional, plan-*view showing ther lower end of the heater and connections. Figure 5 is a view somewhat similar to Figure 3` of the upper end of theheater. Figure Gisa detail, longitudinal sectional elevation showinga burner baille and its support, andv F igure isa plan View of the' baffle and its support as shown in Figure 6. In the drawings, l is the water heater, 5 is the gas. burner, which I prefer to use for heating the water. It consists of a pipe or pipes with one or more rowsof aperturestherein foi: the outflow of gas. The sections 7, preferably consist of tubes 8 designed to afford large heat-ing surface and headers at` the ends thereof. rlhese sections are preferably lso arranged that when they areplaced in position the outflow header-parts 9 are somewhat higher than the in-iiow headerparts l0. For convenience in Vmanufacturing andassembling, I generally make all the sections alike except those forming the side walls.. I- arrange these sections in three- In describing elevation Serial No; 307,410.

or more tiersfwith; clear openy spaces betweentheiir extending preferably from side wall to side wall ofthe heater, thel number of tiers and the numbervof sections ineachy tier being determined by the amount ofwaterheating desired..v rEhe tubes 8- may be. ofy other shapesv than that ofthe triangular form shown, but I find this form4 desirable,

as willlbe hereafter more fully set forth.. The header-parts are shown of rectangular' form. vWhen more: than .one section: is used in each tier, the adjacent header-parts are united and rendered watertight bythe; use: ofpushnifpples. ll.. The sections are held firmly in position both vertically and trans-V versely by' bolts as at25. The headers thus made. preferably have across-section equal to the aggregate cross-sections' of all: the. tubes. of that tier.

I. prefer to make the 'basesl 12 ofthe tubes. 8 of greater' widthA than the rectangular; header-parts and invert alternate sections, as shown.

From the upper `headerof the tier of sec-v tions subjected to` maximum heaty extends thefoutletV pipe 13. Through this outlet pipef the heatedzwater flowsv to its point or points-v ofv distribution. Though thisV outleti pipe.' isl shownl to= extend directly out of the water heaterl from the header, it is clearv thatthe` water flowing from the sections subjected to` maximum heat may be made to'pass through'.` additional pipes in the water heater before entering an exterior outlet pipe; let is. a 9V casting containing conduits la.. rfhe con duits. here shown extend from the: upper` header of one tier` to. the. lower header of the tier immediately below. l/Vliile in Figure 4- this conduit-casting is showny to be sepa-ratedf from the walls of the water heater, it is often desirabler to attach this casting directly to theA outer wall of the. water heater. lVhile I prefer to utilize single castingY for these conduits, yet they 10i ina-y be' made separately. These conduits preferably should have a cross-section equaly toV that of the headers. These conduits preferably should be outside the walls of the' water heater.

The return flow water is carried to the lower-part of the section or tier of sections subjected to minimum, heat through a pipe 1K6 whichi extends below the base of the section. or tier of sectionsl immediately belowl 110 the-formerand `preferably this return flow pipe extendsto a point below the base of the lowest section. The lower headers of the tier of sections are formed with small apertures 17 so that upon the opening of the cock 18 the water heater may be entirely and conveniently drained. The water space in the headers 10 of the lower tier of sections is connected, by a small aperture 19, with the header of the tier above and the same aperture is provided in the headers above. From the upper part of the uppermost header a small conduit 2O extends into the outlet pipe or expansion tank for the escape of water vapors and air.

In my method of water heating, when heat is applied to the section or tier of sections nearest the source of heat, the warmer water will rise to the upper header and thence flow to a point or points of distribution. While the warmer water is rising to the upper` header of this section or tier of sections, the warmer water in each of the other sections or tier of sections is likewise rising to the upper headers thereof. The water which flows into the outlet pipe is replaced by water which flows by gravity through the conduit l5 from the header above to the lower header of the section or sections nearest the source of heat and a similar flow takes place in the headers and conduits above. The water flowing from the uppermost header is replaced by water from the return iiow pipe. This return flow water has been carried in this return flow pipe to a point lower than the base of the section below that section entered by the return flow pipe. By so providing for the flow of the water, the possibility of a reverse fiow is prevented and the maximum efiiciency of the water heater obtained. By my invention the cool return iiow water is brought in contact with the cooler combustion gases and gradually carried through the combustion gases and subjected to increasing temperatures until the water passes through the sections subjected to maximum heat, whereupon the water is returned to the point or points of distribution.

In Figure 2 is shown the arrangement of tubes. The gas burners are supplied with air which passes through the small spaces between the burners 5 and the baffles 2l. rl`hese baffles are preferably metal although any reproof material maybe used. I prefer them to have flanges as shown. The baffles quickly become heated when the gas is burning and thus the air immediately below the baffles is in turn heated. This heated air is drawn to the burner and because it is thus heated a higher eiiiciency is secured` The combustion gases from the burner impinge on the broad base of the tube and dividing pass through the spaces between the tube and the adjacent inverted tubes. These gases having passed about the tube of the lowest or irst tier, in turn impinge upon the base of the tube of the tier above, and in turn upon the tubes in the remaining tiers, and iinally pass to the iiue 22. There the apexes of the inverted sections are placed slightly lower than the bases of the non-inverted sections the tendency of the combustion gases to take a direct line to the flue is thus prevented. The condensation caused by perfect combustion and low flue temperature which collects on the tubes will, as may be seen from Figure 2, drip down into the bailles and thence through an aperture in the baflles into a suitable pan or other collector (not shown) which is used to catch the drippings. lt will likewise be seen that these drippings will not fall on the burner and thus interfere with its working.

The side sections 23 are similar to the sections already described except that the tubes are for convenience made of about half the cross-section of the other tubes. On the side of the water heater opposite the conduit casting are provided doors 24. These doors are so arranged that the carbon and other deposits on and between the tubes may be easily removed. These doors swing on hinges and in case of an explosion of gas in the water heater serve as an outlet for the explosive gases.

ln describing the intermediate portions of the water tubes as being arranged in tiers I mean that they are disposed in ranks or rows and that the tubes of each rank are in a zone bounded by substantially parallel planes, and that between the tiers of tubes are clear open spaces extending from side to side of the heater, in which spaces may be manipulated the tools employed for cleaning the tubes of accumulations of soot and ash. rlhe polygonal cross sectional shape of the tubes permits the bounding surfaces of a tier to be in an approximate plane, which is of advantage for structural reasons and to afford facility in the cleaning operations.

rlhe gas burners 5 are located quite close to the lower tier of tubes 8 and opposite to the fiat under surfaces thereof in order that the flames issuing from the burners shall be caused to impinge directly against and practically centrally of the tubes. The result of this arrangement, which is highly eflicient for heating, is that the heat produced by the flames is strongly reflected from the tribes, and it has been my experience that when ordinary pipe burners 5 are used without baflie plates they soon become clogged with carbon, because they become too highly heated owing to the reflection of heat from the under surfaces of the tubes 8. Such deposit of carbon soon impairs the efficiency of the burner and requires it to be cleaned. When, however, the baflie plates arranged shown, are employed, several important results are obtained, amongst which may be Ll l) 'combustion to impinge directly and centrally upon the flat faces of the water tubes.; with theresult that theeliiciency-.of the heater as a` `whole is very noticeably: increased.`

While I have shown my invention inaA gas watery heater, it is obviousthatsonie of the features thereof are applicable to water heaters using coal, oil or other materials for heating. It is likewise evident that my invention is applicable to vertical water heaters as well as horizontal. Vhile my invention is chiefly designed for the purpose of providing` heat for buildings it may be advantageously used as an instantaneous water heater to furnish hot water for washing and other purposes. For such use the water pipe from the main is connected up as the return flow pipe 16 above described and the outflow 13 extends to the point of distribution, or the water heater may be connected up with a storage system. The section or sections for this use are preferably made of copper or some other high thermal-conducting metal.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In a water heater, three or more tiers of inclined hollow sections, said sections having' at each end a header portion and having intermediate portions so formed that with certain of said sections inverted a suitable space for combustion gases is provided around each section, a conduit connecting the. upper header of one tier of sections to the lower header in a lower tier, a vent pipe to an outlet or expansion tank in the upper header of the top tier, means for admitting the return flow water to an upper section and means for carrying the water subjected to maximum heat toward a point of distribution.

2. In a water heater, hollow sections through which the water circulates arranged in a plurality of tiers, each formed of a plurality of sections, the sections having intermedi ate tubular portions arranged in zones bounded by substantially parallel planes and headers at their respective ends, the intermediate portions being of polygonal cross sectional shape and arranged to provide suitable spaces about and between them for the passage of gases of combustion, and the said tiers being one above the other with clear open spaces between them eX- tending across the heater from side to side, the sections constituting any tier being connected with each other through the headers.

3. In a water heater, a plurality of tiers of hollow sections through which the water circulates, withfclearopen spaces from sidey to 4side of the heater between the tiers, the sections having headers atv their, ends and intermediate hollow or tubular portions that are of triangular cross sectional shape, such intermediate triangular portions being,` so arranged in t-he respective tiers that there arespaces between and `about them for thefree passage of gases of combustion, and they intermediate triangular sections inV the respective tiersl beingi so disposed that the;` bases of the sections in one tier are directly; above the spaces` between the sections inthe tier below, whereby the gases of combustion passing between the sections of one tier impinge upon the bases of the sections in the tier immediately above, and means connecting the. sections to cause circulation of water through them.

4. A water heater such as described in claim 2, having formed in the sides of the heater openings located opposite the open spaces between the tiers of tubes, and doors closing the said openings.

5. In a water heater, the combination of hollow sections through which the water circulates formed with headers at their ends and intermediate tubular portions, the sections being arranged in tiers one above the other and the intermediate port-ions of the sections spaced apart to permit circulation of gases of combustion about them and inclined so that the water being heated in the sections of any tier flows from the lower to the upper headers thereof, and circulating connections between the higher header of each upper tier and the lower header of a tier below it.

6. The combination stated in claim 5 including also flow connections for carrying away the heated water, leading from the upper headers of the tier subject to the highest heat and the water supply connection leading to the lower headers of the tier farthest removed from the source of heat.

7. The combination stated in claim 5 when the circulating connections between the tiers are located outside t-he path of the products of combustion.

8. The combination stated in claim 5, including a return How pipe through which the water to be heated is supplied, connected with the lower headers of the upper tier of sections, such return flow pipe passing in its course to a point at least below the level of the tier of sections next to that into which it discharges, whereby the tendency to reverse flow through the said pipe is prevented.

9. In a water heater, the combination with tubular sections through which the water circulates spaced apart to permit the circulation of gases of combustion about them, the lowermost tubular sections having flat under surfaces and being arranged in a tier,

of burners for a gaseous fuel located below and close to the tubular sections, and bafi'les located adjacent to the burners and arranged to liinit and direct the admission of air thereto, the baiiies being constructed to cause the directed air to iinpinge on the gas flames at points above that from which the `gas issues from the burners, whereby the Haines are directed centrally against the flat faces of the tubular sections ot said lower tier, and the burners are kept relatively cool.

10. In a Water heater, the combination 'with tubular sections through which the Water circulates spaced apart to permit the circulation of gases of combustion about them, the loWermost tubular sections having flat under surfaces and being arranged in a tier, of gas burners located below and close to the said tubular sections and battles on opposite sides of the burners arranged to direct the air supplied to the burners, the battles being formed with flanges that direct the air to the gas fla-Ines at points above where the gas issues from the burners.

ANDREV J GALLAHER. 

